Edwin Valero
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Edwin Valero | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edwin Valero December 3, 1981 |
| Died | 19 April, 2010 (aged 28) Valencia, Carabobo |
| Nationality |  Venezuelan |
| Other names | El Inca El Dinamita El Terminator The Liquidator[1] |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Lightweight |
| Height | 5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m) |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 27 |
| Wins | 27 |
| Wins by KO | 27 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Edwin Valero (December 3, 1981 - April 19, 2010) was born in Bolero Alto, and raised in El Vigía, [both locations in Mérida, Venezuela]) was an undefeated southpaw boxer who fought in the super featherweight (130 lb) division until he moved up to lightweight. His professional boxing record was 27-0 (27 KOs, 19 of which occurred in the first round). Valero is a former WBA Super Featherweight champion and former WBC Lightweight champion who was known by boxing fans for his style and punching power.
Boxing career
Valero started boxing at the age of 12, reportedly compiling an amateur record of 86-6 with 57 knockouts. He was Venezuelan amateur champion three years running, as well as Central and South American Champion (beating Francisco "Panchito" Bojado).
On February 25, 2006, Valero set a new world record by winning his first 18 fights as a professional by first-round knockout (that record has since been broken by Tyrone Brunson). The previous record for consecutive first-round knockouts was 15 by Young Otto (record), who accomplished the feat in 1905. In Valero's nineteenth Weiner(March 25, 2006), Genaro Trazancos ended the first-round knockout streak by surviving until the second round.
Because of his punching power and perfect knockout ratio, he became the darling of boxing fans. His biggest backers in the sport includes Doug Fischer of RingTV.com (who regularly covers Valero in his articles for the website which also aired videos of his workouts and sparring sessions) and Boxing Inside with Peter Palmiere (Boxing Inside airs on SPTV Channel 33 every Thursday night at 7pm.) The Los Angeles local cable show also aired Valero's workouts, sparring sessions and interviews conducted by journalist Palmiere.
Valero defeated Vicente Mosquera by tenth-round TKO on August 5, 2006. With this win, Valero won the WBA super featherweight title and has defended it four times. The last fight was against Takehiro Shimada in Tokyo on June 12, 2008.
On September 3, 2008, Valero vacated his WBA title and moved up to the lightweight class.[2]
On April 4, 2009, Valero fought Antonio Pitalua for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight title at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The fight in Austin marked the first time Valero fought in the United States since 2003. After an uneventful first round, Valero knocked Pitalua down just seconds into the second round with a right hook. Pitalua got up, but was put down to the canvas again as Valero continued the assault on him. After getting up again, Pitalua was trapped in a corner with Valero throwing an accumulating amount of punches that eventually caused the referee to step in and stop the fight. [3]
His next fight was against Hector Velasquez in his hometown of Caracas Venezuela. Valero stopped Hector Velazquez by TKO 7, successfully defending his WBC Lightweight world title for the first time. Valero defeated Antonio DeMarco by TKO in February 2010. Valero vacated his WBC Lightweight title to move up in weight to Junior Welterweight and expected to face Lamount Peterson this summer with the ultimate goal of challenging seven-division world champion Manny Pacquiao in the future.
Career roadblocks
On February 5, 2001, Valero was involved in a severe motorcycle accident in which he wasn't wearing a helmet. He fractured his skull and had surgery to remove a blood clot. This injury was sustained prior to him launching his pro career, and it has created roadblocks to major bodies sanctioning his fights. Valero claims that his Venezuelan doctor cleared him to fight on January 17, 2002, and he turned pro that July with a first-round KO.
Valero appeared to hit the jackpot when he was signed after his 12th pro fight by Golden Boy Promotions. Valero was scheduled to appear on HBO's Boxing After Dark, but in January 2004, he failed an MRI due to brain scan irregularities in New York and thus was not allowed to fight in the United States. As a result, the fight did not take place. He has continued to fight outside the US, and, as of March 25, 2008, Valero was cleared to box in the state of Texas.
Allegations on assault
It was reported on September 27, 2009 that Edwin Valero had been arrested on assault charges. A man alleged that the boxer attacked his mother and sister over a feud.[4] Valero, however, denied the allegations and considers them an attempt to harm his reputation. His mother even came forward to tell the media that no foul play was involved.
On March 25, 2010, Valero was again accused of assault, this time by allegedly attacking his wife who was sent to hospital for bruises and a damaged lung.[5] Valero denied any wrong-doing, stating his wife stumbled from a stairway but investigators doubted him.[6] But just like in the first assault case, Valero won as his wife told authorities that her injuries were indeed caused by an accident while on some stairs, despite the fact that she had been treated for similar injuries twice before at the hospital.[7] Because of the vicious personality he showed at the hospital where his wife was treated, Valero was sent to spend six months of psychiatric rehabilitation.[8]
Murder charges and death
On 18 April 2010 Valero was arrested after police found the body of his 24-year-old wife in a hotel in the city of Valencia, Carabobo.[9] Valero was considered a suspect and was taken to jail.[10] Valero allegedly admitted to hotel security that he had murdered his wife[11] The following day he was found dead in his prison cell at 1:30 AM, having hanged himself using pieces of his own clothing.[12]
Professional championships
See also
References
- ^ "Edwin Valero Gives Another Knockout Performance and Calls Out Manny Pacquiao boto". Ringsidereport.com. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ^ "Valero gives up WBA title!". Fightnews.com. September 3, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
- ^ Rosenthal, Michael (2009-04-04). "Valero makes strong statement with KO". The Ring. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Associated Press (September 27, 2009). "Report: Valero arrested on domestic violence charges". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
- ^ Mark Vester (March 25, 2010). "Edwin Valero Arrested on Alleged Assault Charges". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ^ Jhonny Gonzalez (March 26, 2010). "Edwin Valero: More Details Surface on Arrest, Allegations". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ Jhonny Gonzalez (March 28, 2010). "Edwin Valero in The Clear; Assault Charges are Dropped". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
- ^ "Valero sent to rehab". Fightnews.com. March 29, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
- ^ http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AiS6.BuI6yKsZyUovqtnCYZxYQM6?slug=capress-box_valero_slaying-163054724
- ^ Maria Montiel (April 18, 2010). "CICPC: "Inca" Valero confesó haber asesinado a su esposa". Retrieved 2010-04-18.
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5109456
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5112471
External links
- Boxing record for Edwin Valero from BoxRec (registration required)